We have been accused of being 'thrill seekers' - maybe it's true - we certainly like to try out various activities in life, although not all of it is of the adventurous variety. We just like living life to the full.

Below is a selection of stuff we've done over the years.

______________________________________________

Riding a tandem. We hired this tandem in Te Anau in New Zealand and cycled through the woods and off the roads - a little scary at the back when you can't see what's coming!

In Lido de Jesolo we hired a bicycle for four, which was good fun providing the person at the front was in control and knew what they were doing!

______________________________________________

That is me flying upside down in an old Tiger Moth over the Devon countryside! It was totally awesome. We did loop-the-loop, spirals and flew upside down, as well as skimming the surface of the fields.

______________________________________________

Very sedate, very relaxing, this bamboo raft in Jamaica was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. I wouldn't like to do it when the cruise ships are in town though, I should imagine it would be absolute chaos on the river. When we did it, there was only the two of us and the nature surrounding the river - very peaceful.

______________________________________________

Before we went to New Zealand I categorically stated that I would not be bungy jumping. By the time we got to Queensland I had weakened somewhat, and suddenly I found myself with elastic bands tied around my ankles, staring down at a river from the top of a bridge.

I was counted down: five, four, three, two, one...bungy! I looked around - wasn't something meant to happen now? Oh yes, I was supposed to jump. Second try: five, four, three, two, one, bungy! I take a huge step backwards! Well, as much of a step as you can take with your ankles tied together. On the third attempt I was pushed!

It was the most terrifying, awesome, frightening, overwhelming experience I have ever had, and the adrenalin rush was totally unbelievable! Would I do it again? Hmmm...

______________________________________________

Canadian canoes are great! We drifted along the Zambezi River, past herds of hippos and grazing elephants. Relaxing, stimulating and a fabulous way to experience the countryside and wildlife of Africa.

______________________________________________

We've been on several of these Canopy Walks - this was the second one we experienced, in Costa Rica. Others have been in Borneo and Guyana, and Ghana.

Towers support hanging bridges, and you walk across planks some 30 metres above the tree tops. Not for people who suffer from vertigo!

______________________________________________

Led by a team of huskies, we set off in this dog sled through the forests of Finland. There was a slightly hairy moment when we weren't sure we were going to get round some trees, but it all sorted itself out in the end. Cold, but fun!

______________________________________________

Staying in a hotel in Ica in Peru, we saw a lady selling dune buggy trips. She spoke little English and my Spanish is not great, but we managed to understand that there were three levels of adventure - we chose the most exhilarating one of course! And boy was it exhilarating! I screamed with terror and pleasure as we went over the top of the dunes into the abyss below. The driver was extremely skillful and we both absolutely loved it!

______________________________________________

On our light aircraft flight over Ayers Rock and the Olgas in Australia, I was allowed to take the controls and fly the plane!

For his birthday one year I gave David a flying lesson, and he brought the plane in to land at Bristol International Airport.

______________________________________________

Dressed for the weather, we set out to explore Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand on foot. One of the most exciting parts of the walk, was crossing the freezing torrential river whilst listening to the calving of the glacier in the distance. Bits of ice broken off came tumbling down the river we had just crossed!

______________________________________________

I love helicopters! We have taken many helicopter flights, but this one in Shotover River in New Zealand was one of the more adventurous! I never knew you could get a helicopter to perform such stunts!

For my birthday one year David bought me a helicopter flying lesson - it is harder than it looks, but great fun!

______________________________________________

Neither of us are particularly keen on horse riding, but we do it from time to time if the occasion calls for it. The stirrups for this saddle in Costa Rica were not adjusted properly, and I had a sore on my shin for weeks from where they had rubbed.

______________________________________________

Hot air ballooning is something we both love and do as often as we can on our travels. So far we have managed to fit it in at the following destinations:

• Bristol, UK
• Alice Springs, Australia
• Valley of the Kings, Egypt
• Bagan, Myanmar
• Cairns, Australia
• Namib Desert, Namibia
• Masai Mara, Kenya
• Dubai, UAE

We have also twice been up in a tethered helium balloon anchored in a park in Bristol.

______________________________________________

What a thrill! Jetboating, both in New Zealand and here in Fiji, is a speed-and-andrenalin-lover's dream!

A jetboat is a boat propelled by a jet of water ejected from the back of the craft. Unlike other powerboats that use propellers in the water behind the boat, a jetboat draws the water from under the boat into a pump-jet inside the boat, then expels it through a nozzle at the stern. Jet boats are highly manoeuvrable and can often be reversed and brought to a stop within their own length from full speed in a manoeuvre known as a Hamilton turn.

______________________________________________

Drifting silently along a river in Costa Rica on the kayaks, we were able to experience the wildlife at a different level. My favourite memory is of a sloth coming down to the water to drink - a very rare occurrance.

______________________________________________

Far too sedate to be called adventurous and far too easy to be classed as a sport - paddleboarding is probably just an activity. It is a nice way to spend an hour or so looking through the clear waters of the Yasawa Islands in Fiji. 

______________________________________________

On a hill outside Queenstown in New Zealand, we strapped a parachute to our backs and kept running until we ran out of ground underneath our feet. We were airborne!

Normally the flight only lasts 7-8 minutes, but we were really lucky and caught a thermal that day and were hanging around in the air and spiralling down at speed to be lifted back up again for about twenty minutes. I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time.

______________________________________________

Much more sedate, but still good fun, is parasailing, where your parachute is attached to a line and you are dragged along by a speedboat.

This picture is taken in Tunisia, but we have also been parasailing in Barbados, Pattaya in Thailand and Gran Canaria.

______________________________________________

We both love quad biking! This picture was taken in Mexico, but my favourite experience was in Devon in the UK where there was only the two of us and a guide, racing on narrow paths through the woods. Also available in the Domincan Republic!

______________________________________________

He claims he doesn't like camels and camel riding, but don't you think David looks very much at home on this camel in Morocco? Other places we have ridden camels include Australia, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan.

______________________________________________

From a platform some 30 metres above the ground, you are attached to a rope and get lowered down to the forest floor by someone controlling the ropes below - rapelling!

It is very similar to abseiling, which I also tried in Cornwall many, many years ago. With abseiling I had a rock face to 'walk' down though and could control the speed myself, here I was totally at the mercy of the chap below and as you can see, just hanging in mid air.

______________________________________________

Sand boarding looks more fun that it really is. We never managed to get enough speed up for it to be exhilarating and the arduous climb back up to the top of the sand dune was not worth it!

______________________________________________

On a jetty over the water, we were equipped with old-fashioned diving bells with airlines attached and climbed down a ladder to the sea floor fifteen metres below. Here you could walk along a wooden walkway, admiring the fishes (attracted by the food we brought along) and pick up various bottom dwelling creatures to examine. Absolutely fabulous!

______________________________________________

In Andorra we had great fun racing these skidoos around a circuit - there was only the two of us, so we didn't have to worry about upsetting anyone else!

______________________________________________

Many years ago I spent a week in the Isle of Wight, obtaining my Royal Yachting Association Certificate for Dinghy sailing. I haven't really used it since though.

In Fiji, David learnt to sail a hobie-cat - I was particularly impressed with his underwater sailing!

______________________________________________

Living in Norway at the time, I got my first skis for my second birthday. It was mainly cross-country skiing we did back then, but I have had three holidays abroad learning to down-hill or slalom. David accompanied me on the last two (here seen in Andorra) and actually became better at it than me! Very embarrassing.

______________________________________________

We both love snorkeling and will do it as often as we can on our trips. We both have underwater cameras which we use to take masses of pictures of fish and corals.

I find snorkeling one of the most relaxing activities there is, and can stay out there for hours - as I did in Djibouti and got seriously sunburnt on our last day!

We have been lucky enough to snorkel in the following destinations:

• Barbados
• Seychelles
• Great Barrier Reef
• Red Sea
• Tahiti
• Fiji
• Mexico
• Maldives
• Vietnam
• Borneo
• Zanzibar
• Madagascar
• Jamaica
• Galapagos
• Djibouti
• Indonesia

______________________________________________

I have always wanted to go down in a submarine, and in Gran Canaria we finally got the opportunity! It was not as claustrophobic as I imagined it to be, but of course the waters around the Canary Islands aren't exactly teeming with wildlife, so there wasn't a great deal to see. A much better experience was in South Korea where divers fed fish outside the portholes whilst a cameraman took photos of you with the diver and the fish in the background.

I would still love to do it somewhere like the Caribbean.

______________________________________________

A long-time ambition fulfilled. It has been my dream for years and years to drive a tank, and in 2004, David bought me a tank-driving lesson for my birthday. Thank you David.

At a tank museum in Norfolk, you can drive this little monster around a specially developed track, over little hills and into large puddles! Fantastic fun!

______________________________________________

Of course it doesn't hold quite the same attraction for me, having grown up in snowy Norway, where tobogganing is a normal past-time for kids. David rather enjoyed it though - here he is in Andorra.

______________________________________________

Would you believe, I had never tried trampolining until we went to New Zealand in 1995! What a deprived childhood I've had!

______________________________________________

When we had the opportunity to try SCUBA diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, we both jumped at the chance. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to get my PADI certificate when I got back home, which is what I did.

______________________________________________

White water rafting has got to be one of the most exhilarating activities you can do! Here in Queenstown in New Zealand, we are negotiating a Grade 5 rapid.

We also took my parents rafting in  Costa Rica when they were 75 years old!

______________________________________________

I can't say I was particularly good at it, but I certainly enjoyed having a go at learning to windsurf in Fiji.

______________________________________________

75 metres above the canopy floor and 230 metres from the other side of the ravine, you strap yourself into a climbing harness and get attached to wire and sent flying across the valley! Wow! We know it as zip-wiring, but I have also heard it called Flying Fox.

______________________________________________

It looks quite tame, but I assure you that this luge ride in Rotorua was anything other than slow!

______________________________________________

Not exactly adventurous, but milking a cow was a 'first' for me, despite spending every summer holiday on a farm as a child. 

______________________________________________

I spent most days on our holiday in Barbados waterskiing, and I did get very good at it - performing stunts on my own and with a friend.

When we returned to the UK, we bought a speed boat and all the necessary equipment for me to carry on with this new-found hobby, but it is not quite the same in the cold waters of the UK, so it didn't last very long!

______________________________________________

For some reason, I seem to have a knack with blow-pipes. I have tried it three times now (in the Amazon, Borneo and Ecuador) and all three times I did very well. It is not something I think I will take up at home though.

______________________________________________

In Lillehammer in Norway, they have put the Olympic Bobsleigh run to good use: wheels have been fitted to the sleighs, and for a price you can hurtle down the Olympic run and a 4.5G. Exhilarating yes, but don't do it if you have even the slightest neck or back problem. I learned the hard way and dislocated the vertebrae in my neck - an injury which has followed me ever since.

______________________________________________

For our tenth wedding anniversary, I treated David to a lesson in this Formula Ford at Silverstone. There is a budding racing driver in every man I think.

______________________________________________

I never did get rich panning for gold in Arrowtown in New Zealand, but it was a fun experience.

______________________________________________

David is quite partial to a bit of shooting from time to time, and is very good at it too. Here he is seen in Vietnam firing a kalashnikov AK47.

______________________________________________

At a Multi-Activity Day in Somerset, David had a go at piloting a hovercraft

______________________________________________

Another one of the activities on the MAD day, was racing a pilot buggy.

______________________________________________

My introduction to adventurous activities started early - here aged three driving a JCB

______________________________________________

We've hired jetskis on several occasions - here David is seen in Mexico.

______________________________________________

Like a baby bouncer for adults, the trampoline bungy ties you into a harness and sets you bouncing up and down on a trampoline from elastic bands. Great fun!

______________________________________________

Other activities that we have taken part in over the years, but I am still waiting to dig out some photographs for, include:

• Archery
• Driving a train
• Surfing
• Go-karting
• Ice skating
• Outrigger canoe
• Potholing
• Rock climbing
• Smoking a hubba bubba
• Tin can shoot out
• Tubing
• Turkish bath
• Water divining